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Ego and JP Farquar are the best of friends; two artists that respect and admire each other–but better than that for art fans they go together amazingly well. I don’t usually do quick interviews and as I have not yet had a chance to really get to speak to either of these great alternative artists at any length, it is a but unfair to them and to you guys to do a quick interview, to be completely fair, but both of these guys are two of my favorite artists, so I am completely breaking my own rules.

Cast Shadow by Ego

Xavier: To be completely honest as well, I have known and loved J.P.’s work since I first met him when he was in high school and Ego has been one of my absolute favorites since I first bought a few of his drawings at Emerald City Comic Con many years ago. So my first question is, I know from past conversations with the both of you that you absolutely respect and love each other’s work. What is it like working with such amazing artists and how did you guys decide to put this show together?

Ego: I like working with other artists, because it allows me an opportunity to gain a different perspective. At this point in my career I’m fairly set in my ways,so it’s nice to be able to see someone else’s approach to technical challenges.

JP and I have shown together several times before, and I think our work fits well together. It’s similar in it’s way of being macabre, without being especially menacing. This time around we’ve put together an abbreviated retrospective of some of our charmingly creepy creations.

JP can be a bit of a gloomy hermit sometimes, so it’s good that we’re showing together again, to get him, and his work out into the light, at least for a little while.

I will also be debuting a brand new painting, created especially for this exhibit.

JP Farquar

JP Farquar: Yeah as much as I pick on ego for never drawin’ feet on his people, I still got lumps of respect fer the kid’s picture buddies. I met ego how I met most of the Seattle art homies, while working on the art hostel in belltown. We’ve done a buncha shows together since. I was always into his shit because of the ridiculous amount of detail he puts into his characters. Something I try for as well. We often get shows together, I think because of the similarity in how we paint. We have different subject matters and draw very differently but have the same sort of painting technique. Something we’ve played with by painting each other’s drawings. The final products being hard to tell apart. Which makes for either a good show or a confusing one.

As far as this show goes we both just have a buncha pieces we gotta get out of our homes and into someone else’s. Bring yer check book.

Most of my pieces fer the show have a theme of ugly kids trying desperately to look pretty and failing thru their misguided ways of going about that.

Most of my shit is brought about by the horror and sci-fi fantasy I grew up on and the need to see pictures that I wanted to look at that no one was doing. I gotta lotta shit that needs to get outta my head. I usually get it out thru animation but some-times a thought or character only needs a single frame. That’s when I paint.

But yea. I like showin’ with Ego. Or as I call the fucker, “eagle”. He’s a swell kid that one.

Born of Light by Ego

Ego: Well, I should probably get back to work now… I’ve got a few other projects, like painting a motorcycle helmet for the “Tanks and Helmets” show coming up at the Piranha Shop, and a couple of other new paintings for the “Telephone” show that will be held in a few months at BHERD Studios Gallery. I still have a lot to do, and not much time left to do it. (Which seems to be the story of my life as a struggling artist…stay tuned for more on that subject in the not too distant future…).

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..